Blue Tyson's page

no man,i'm in canberra on planet australia...the book-fair is run by a charity so you can find some serious bargains...don't know where they get this stuff every year!...among a lot of others,i'm looking forward to reading gardiner f fox's 'kyrik and the lost queen' and 'kothar and the wizard slayer'(both from around 1970 i think)...do you have those?...he had a lot of stories in 'planet stories' in the 50's but i don't think i've read any

I've read a couple of Kothar books - fairly ordinary, but if you got 'em for a buck or two no problem there. The Kyrik I haven't seen. I have one of his Llarn books, that was pretty cool.

Interesting idea. We'll consider it.

I assume you're talking about a shirt with the logo on it?

Or stubby holders, or pens, or whatever. :)

Haffner has all of Williamson in print in hardcover and will soon be pulling the same trick with Hamilton. There's a world of difference between a $45 hardcover and a Planet Stories book, but the whole "let's republish the pulps" field is crowded enough without all of us stepping on each other's feet.

Yep, doesn't surprise me someone doing him.

Chance one of those type of books turns up in a shop outside the USA is basically zero, though, as far as I can tell. When I look it up at Libraries Australia, not one of their books are held anywhere in the country, it seems. So only really of interest to local collector geeks. Nice for them, not much use for readers.

I've actually seen Williamson Legion books used, though, so there was likely quite a lot of 'em and a UK edition, or I wouldn't have. Probably another reason to avoid them, too, looking it up.

Compared to say, the Morigu books, which get a sum total of 20 titles, period. There's a $1 Desecration at thriftbooks, too according to ABE for people wanting to check it out.

I have two David C. Smith books, "Oron" and "The Sorcerer's Shadow." I've heard good things about Smith, but right now these books are not very high at all on the "to read" pile. I think he also may have co-written three Red Sonja books I picked up at a "cheap as dirt" library sale last week, but for now these are "deep storage" material I won't get to for at least another year or so.

I have read all his Red Sonja team-ups, they are ok.

The Sorcerer's Shadow is the one I found, too.

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but Charles R. Saunders. Night Shade did his first two Imaro books, but not the third - and what looks like self-publishing of Dossouye. He has more of the former, too, I think.

Really good African flavored Sword and Sorcery.

http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/

Hmm, also how about Tully Zetford's "Ryder Hook" series -- Whirlpool of Stars, The Boosted Man, Star City, and the Virility Gene.

Also Mark Ramsay's "Falcon" (Draco de Montfalcon) series -- The Falcon Strikes, The Black Pope, The Bloody Cross, and The King's Treasure.

I've read a couple of those Ryder Hook books. Right sort of crazy stuff, but they don't deserve republishing, ever. :)

I've never come across one of the Falcon books, would like to.

Finally found one of David C. Smith's Sword and Sorcery books a while ago. Anyone else read these?

The focus for Planet Stories is science fiction and fantasy, so while it's sometimes tempting to consider a Leigh Brackett western or a Henry Kuttner/C. L. Moore mystery novel, I really don't want to dilute the brand while we are just getting started.

Leigh Brackett's Western is an historical novel novelising the life of a real bloke, too, so not what you are after, at all.

Certainly nothing like Logan Winters Spectros, a shapeshifting gunslinging wizard. :)

I can understand wanting to see more early Asimov, though I must take huge exception to the idea that he "single handedly" invented SF, or even that he "invented" SF at all. A lot of his early stories appeared in the pulps alongside those of folks like Edmond Hamilton and Jack Williamson, who were already considered...

The other thing about the early Asimov, is that, in general, it isn't very good. I've read pretty much all his stories, barring the collections about the guy and his little magical demon, or all the Black Widowers.

Not much of it really fits with Planet Stories either. He wrote the occasional thing like Black Friar Of the Flame early on (I think this one was probably in Planet Stories or something similar, given how different it was), which absolutely is the Edmond Hamilton sort of thing - if people want one to check out.

There are several collections called 'The Early Asimov', for those interested, although fairly old. Asimov is popular enough the interlibrary thing might still work for him.

Would he sell? Quite possibly I suppose. :)

The two most over the top fantasy novels I have read pretty much are Mark C. Perry's Morigu: The Dead and Morigu: The Desecration.

These are from the '80s. Seriously hardcore badass.

Here's the back of the second book :-

"The mightiest champions ever seen: the full armies of the elves, dwarfs, and humans. Beside them--the hero Niall Trollsbane, sorceress Dermot, and Anlon the unicorn god. A war so dire that even Lord Death has chosen sides.

The greatest enemy they will ever know: demon princes, traitor gods, the Queen of Magic; and all the slavering hordes of goblins, trolls, undeads led by the last Dragon. Monsters who do not conquer--only destroy, as they poison the wombs of women and seek to kill the very land itself.

Between them stands the Morigu: a creature made with the power of the Goddess, an elf possessed by the Earth's pain. The defender who must ease his agony with slaughter, the Morigu is Nature's passion, destined to soothe the shattered land with a sea of blood.

They are warriors of a holocaust that rages from desert to swamp, from broken skies to crystal caverns A war with no quarter--for the prize is the living soul of the world."

Despite the elf/dwarf thing, this ain't no Tolkien. Hobbits would last nanoseconds.

One small bit of one of the crazy battles:

"The Gate widened, the infinite darkness spread, and one by one the Demon Lords rose and made war. Apkieran, Lord of the Undead, wielded his bleeding ax; Roella, the Fire Lord, followed by his burning minions; and others, great vast shadows, insectlike horrors, sheaps of leprosy and nightmares, for here Hell revealed all its might. There was no constraint, no fear of the last battle, and they were winning.
The cries of the tortured deafened all sound, the stench of a physical weapon, and in the middle Dammuth stood, unbowed, his magic flashing from him as lightning, as fire, as pure bolts of energy, and Death himself shuddered at the horror and madness of it all."

See amazon people Amazon page for The Desecration

This is a long shot, but what about Mary Stewart's Myrdden books?

There's a lot of talk of SF, but not much fantasy! :)

Now I will digress, and suggest John Norman's Chronicles of Gor. I'm interested in reading this since seeing the terrible Gor movie on Sci-Fi last week.

The Crystal Cave, etc? Not really the thing he is looking for, I think. But that does remind me of something.

To go old again, though, have you read Jack Williamson's Legion Of Space? No idea if yet another high-priced collectible or other publisher has rights to this, though. :) Wouldn't be surprising, I guess.

Also, G. David Nordley. He has written some really good hard SF adventures in the Solar System - see Into the Miranda Rift, among others.

For something that fits more with Planet Stories:-

See below description.

SF-S-4.5 Nordley, G. David : Poles Apart

I couldn't find a breakdown a while ago, and asked the author, and this is what he said, or part of

Full reply I put here :- G. David Nordley reply

I went to the source, and here is what he sent me :-

"Almost all of my stories take place in a single, loosely consistent future history. Several stories have featured the same characters and/or settings:

Trimus Takes place on Trimus, the planet of a brown dwarf, featuring the whale-liike Do Utian detective Drinil-ib, assistants Mary (human), and the flying beings from Kleth, Do Tor and Go Tan.
Poles Apart
Network
Final Review

The story I read these alien cops were fighting barbarians in a castle, pretty much, not to mention land and water chases.

Gardner Dozois actually said on the Asimov's forum he was surprised these hadn't been made into a fixup novel. So a possibility.

Erik,

Two books you should have, if you don't alreayd :-

Gardner Dozois' The Good Old Stuff and The Good New Stuff.

I did see you mention Hugh Cook I think - speaking of original type projects.

A couple of suggestions for people that may not be snagged by other publishers you could have a look at, and see what you think.

The latter two gentleman have stories in the second book.

R. Garcia y Robertson - his SF stories - sentient killer tiger-men, green people, space pirates, stargates and other wild space adventure

RGyR at ISFDB

Here's the SF ones I have read :-

SF-S-4.0 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Bird Herding
SF-S-4.0 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Fair Verona
SW-S-4.0 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Far Barbary
SF-S-4.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Gone To Glory
SF-S-3.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : The Good Ship Lollypop
SF-S-3.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Kansas She Says Is the Name of the Star
SF-S-4.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Long Voyage Home
SF-S-3.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : The Moon Of Popping Trees
SF-S-4.0 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Oxygen Rising
SF-S-4.0 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : A Princess Of Helium
SF-S-3.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Ring Rats
SF-S-3.5 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Stuck Inside Of Mobile
SF-S-4.0 Y Robertson, R. Garcia : Teen Angel

He's done quite a bit of fantasy, too, but not quite the flavour, I think.

I would love to read these books, but it's very hard for me to put down 13 dollars on a 120 page book.

Would be nice if they were released in mass market paperbacks, as I like to read books, not collect them.

You'll have to round up another 10000 friends to buy some for that to happen, probably. ;-)

Blue Tyson wrote:

Browsing further, I find the same tale you mention is in Savage Heroes, a book I did have on my list to get, and a couple more may be findable, too :-

"Duar the Accursed" (May 1937; reprinted in New Worlds for Old, edited by Lin Carter (1971)
"The Thief of Forthe" (July 1937; reprinted in Savage Heroes, edited by Eric Pendragon (1977) and The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (1981)
"The Goddess Awakes" (February 1938; reprinted in Realms of Wizardry, edited by Lin Carter (1976)
"The Werewolf Howls" (November 1941; reprinted in 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1994)

I've got all of those.

Still missing these:

"The Swine of Ææa" (March 1939)
"The Little Man" (August 1939)

Got them but haven't read them, or got them and read them?

A. Merritt is an excellent example of a forgotten American lord of pop culture. "The Face in The Abyss" is my favorite lost-worlds novel ever -- 1920's-30's adventure, gorgeous exotic babes, lost civilizations and ancient science, mutants, dinosaurs, dream theaters and two of the greatest fantasy characters, the Snake Mother and the Shadow of Nimir.*

I've read some Merritt stories, but this is the only novel I have read. I liked it quite a bit.

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0601901.txt

The Red Sonya story is a good one, people that like this stuff should enjoy it

Here's an online version :-

Red Sonya - The Shadow Of the Vulture - Robert E. Howard

I'm editing Hounds of Skaith right now, and I think it's even better than Ginger Star. More crazy monsters, more bizarre cultures... Brackett really doesn't ever let up. I can't wait to see if she can maintain this pace in the third book.

Yep, the second one is definitely better.

I was able to fire up the old Dragon Mag Archive. What a great issue! Six Guns & Sorcery , Politics of Hell...and Eric John Stark!

For those w/out:

15th level fighter
Str 18 (62) Dex 17 Con 16 Int 14 Wis 11 Cha 14

Cool! Thanks. :)

Browsing further, I find the same tale you mention is in Savage Heroes, a book I did have on my list to get, and a couple more may be findable, too :-

"Duar the Accursed" (May 1937; reprinted in New Worlds for Old, edited by Lin Carter (1971)
"The Thief of Forthe" (July 1937; reprinted in Savage Heroes, edited by Eric Pendragon (1977) and The Barbarian Swordsmen, edited by Sean Richards (1981)
"The Goddess Awakes" (February 1938; reprinted in Realms of Wizardry, edited by Lin Carter (1976)
"The Swine of Ææa" (March 1939)
"The Little Man" (August 1939)
"The Werewolf Howls" (November 1941; reprinted in 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg (1994)

Wouldn't have thought to look in the last book, that is for sure.

If I subscribe, and resign myself to mailing the books back home when I finish reading them, can I have my Planet Stories subscription mailed to me seperately while my other subscriptions go to the states?

Thanks again for your assistance,
Tambryn

If you are after the Leigh Brackett - you can certainly get electronic versions of that from Baen Webscriptions.

Blue Tyson wrote:

Never come across any Clifford Ball, that should be interesting.

...see if you can find 'the thief of forthe'(weird tales july 37)...it was published in a great collection called 'the barbarian swordsmen' ed.sean richards by star books 1981

Thanks Johnny, I will. I hadn't heard of that book, and I have a lot of this stuff, and know of a few more I don't have. One to add to the list!

No, Vance, John Jakes and Hamilton all have different Star Kings.

The Captain Future thing is what the Baen people said too, so someone has Captain Future rights and is not using them, or is there some expensive 200 people only will ever have it collectable out there, or something?

Blue Tyson wrote:

Eric Hinkle wrote:

My favorite fictional Mars would have to be the Burroughs/Brackett one, with ancient cities, flashing swords, near-magical forgotten technology, and half-naked princesses. ;)

Yeah. If you want a cool new take on this sort of thing, though, check out S. M. Stirling's In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, which is Mars, and way cool. The first book in the series is the Sky People - Venus, with astronauts and dinosaurs.

I was very pleasantly surprised by these.

I've been meaning to read them. Hopefully Stirling can avoid his more common excesses.

Yeah. There's a couple of badly written character puppet political rant line pieces in the Sky People. They same to be happily absent in general from the second book.

My favorite fictional Mars would have to be the Burroughs/Brackett one, with ancient cities, flashing swords, near-magical forgotten technology, and half-naked princesses. ;)

Yeah. If you want a cool new take on this sort of thing, though, check out S. M. Stirling's In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, which is Mars, and way cool. The first book in the series is the Sky People - Venus, with astronauts and dinosaurs.

I was very pleasantly surprised by these.

Despite the awesomeness of Brackett, having to pick one, perhaps collecting all the Northwest Smith in one easy to get book is the coolest.

Armageddon 2419 A.D

Apologies if it has been mentioned previously.

Google it. or Wiki it. You may be surprised.

I think that it fits right in with Planet Stories.

It's an interesting read, early Buck Rogers and all, but I wouldn't want to be trying to sell it. Nor his Prince of Mars returns planetary romance.

Buck Rogers - Armageddon 2419 AD
Buck Rogers - The Airlords of Han
The Prince of Mars Returns

You do have the Buck Rogers angle, of course.

The Walsh is better than these.

Never come across any Clifford Ball, that should be interesting.

Craig_in_ACT wrote:

James,

I had not read any of these books until I read your review. Thanks very much for highlighting this series of books, I'll be checking them all out as they become available :)

Craig J. Brain
Australia

Hey, thanks Craig! I think you'll really enjoy them... as Erik likes to point out, I was actually skeptical of old sword-and-planet stories when I started working here, but if anybody can make someone an S&P fan, it's Brackett. :)

That'd be a good hiring test for someone who hadn't. Read this Brackett book, write me a review. ;-)

Did this get pushed back a bit? I just noticed now not available at bookdepository, fishpond, etc.

bt

Not a suggestion for publication, but for people who all the older stuff, if you like the space patrol type stories, here's a really early novel, and a pretty good one. Interplanetary agents, alien infiltration, inhabitable planets, all that cool stuff.

(Or as the intro blurb says "Where the crested invaders came from no man could say--but they threatened to bring destruction to the three civilized planets!

Seeking a Vacation, Interplanetary Guard Jack Sanders runs into Romance and a Space War!")

Vandals Of the Void - James Morgan Walsh

http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0603501.txt

I'd certainly throw in my vote for Wagner's Kane, though. Particularly ahead of your Otis Adelbert Klines et. al. :)

If your Robert Moore Williams stories are as crazy as Skull-Face might be fun to see - you could consider a 'ePlanet stories selection' perhaps, for lesser stuff like that?

Tangentially, how about a Planet Stories logo t-shirt(s)?

bt